#we are the tigers week 2023

[rileys-basement]

Hello WATT fandom! I would like to introduce you to an event I just made up because other fandoms have their week, and We Are The Tigers deserves one too! WATT Week 2023!

WATT Week 2023 starts on July 25th and ends July 31st, the day of the WATT reunion concert! (Hence the final day’s prompt) You can do all of the prompts, or just one if you want! This is an open to all fanwork, so you can write fics or draw art or anything else you can think of for WATT! Currently announcements are up on my Instagram and Tumblr (here!), but this event is open to all social media platforms. (I just don’t have any others so it’s harder for me to announce this and view things elsewhere.) If you participate in this event, make sure to use the tag #wattweek2023 + #wearethetigersweek2023 so others can see your creations! It’d also be cool if you could tag me since sometimes things in tags don’t show up and I want to make sure others can see others’ works! This community is small, but is very talented and dedicated to the murder mystery cheerleaders!

We Are The Tigers Week 2023 prompts:

Day 1 (July 25th)  - The basement Day 2 (July 26th) - Captain of the team Day 3 (July 27th) - And the freshman’s in prison! Day 4 (July 28th) - Pom poms up Day 5 (July 29th) - Mistletoe Day 6 (July 30th) - Pizza delivery Day 7 (July 31st) - Reunion

#we are the tigers #we are the tigers musical #watt musical #we are the tigers week 2023 #watt week 2023 #wearethetigersweek2023 #wattweek2023

[sparkieprose]

Me when I go back to the house my friends / teammates were murdered in for a cheerleading practice where certainly nothing will go wrong

And that's a wrap on WATT Week for me!! Thanks so much to everyone who participated or just was here for the ride, this was so much fun!!!

Instagram | WATT Week info (Instagram) (Tumblr)

#we are the tigers #we are the tigers musical #we are the tigers week 2023 #watt week 2023 #watt musical #watt #we are the tigers week 2023 day 7 #watt week 2023 day 7 #we are the tigers week day 7 #watt week day 7 #musical theatre #musicals #we are the tigers art #we are the tigers fanart #art #artwork #riley we are the tigers #cairo we are the tigers #kate we are the tigers #chess we are the tigers #annleigh we are the tigers #farrah we are the tigers #reese we are the tigers #eva we are the tigers

[kellymanning]

WATT Week Day 6: Pizza Delivery

I just like Eva's pin

#we are the tigers week 2023 #watt week 2023 #we are the tigers #eva sanchez #this is part of a bigger drawing i might post on insta later idk

[emisirrelevant]

WE ARE THE TIGERS WEEK DAY 7/ REUNION DAY

AHHHHHHHHH

HAPPY REUNION DAY MY FELLOW TIGERS/GILES COREY STUDENTS.

I JUST FINISHED WATCHING THE LIVESTREAM AND OMG IT WAS AMAZING.

SO AS MY POST FOR THE LAST DAY OF WATT WEEK, ENJOY MY NOTES I WROTE DURING THE LIVESTREAM:

Preston starting things off! Hello icon and legend!

YESSS GO CAROLINE!!!

MAJOR SHOUTOUT TO CAROLINE LELLOUCHE AND LEANNA (I didn't get her last name I'm sorry) FOR COVERING PARTS

COVERING FOR LIKE 4 songs 

APPRECIATE YOUR SWINGS 

AHHHH CHESS AND KATE

JENNY AND CELESTE ARE BACK I MISSED THEM

HAHAHAAA Kaitlyn holding the phone when she calls Farrah 

AWWWW ZOE AS FARRAH

GOD I MISSED THEM ALL

SHE'S GOT THE FARRAH BRAIDS

AHHHH “sure Riley, what could go wrong?” 

awww Caroline changing the way "welcome everyone" is said

OK WE'RE ON DON'T EVEN

BUT I DON'T EVEN CARE I DONT CARE

JENNY AND CELESTE YESSS

“Chords for Christ” HAHAA

“Is co-captain a thing now?” Iconic line +1

“It’s not nepotism it’s called friendship” Iconic line +2

WOAHHH A LITTLE LYRIC CHANGE? (I didn't get the words down I'm sorry but maybe someone else will remember)

SCRELTING!!

Oh god it’s Skype tomorrow time

OHHH THE WAY JENNY AND CELESTE TOTALLY GET INTO THE CHARACTERS

OH GOD BEFORE THE BREAKDOWN

CELESTE AND ZOE VOCALS!!!

OH GOD EVERYONE SINGING NOW

THE BEAUTIFUL HARMONIES 

UH THE ZOOM IN ON THE LAST LINE KNOWING WHAT HAPPENS TO CHESS AND FARRAH

“Unfortunately after that Chess is murdered” HAHA Preston narrating in between

RIP Chess now it’s abstinence song time

YESSS KAITLYN SINGGGGG

YESSS CLARK SPOTLIGHT TIME

The man has entered the plot

FOREVER FOREVER-

"or however long it takes" lol love that lil line from Clark

Their voices are great together

Awww they must have had a lot of fun singing this one together again

HHHHH

A SURPRISE?

YES PRESTON BEING REESE!

YOU CAN CHANGE THE KEY FOR TRANS ACTORS!!! (said by Preston himself, ICON!)

Ohhh Preston singing this gives it such a deep meaning and it’s so good in every way

CAROLINE NO IMMA CRY (Y'all she started crying doing the dialogue when Riley says when you're a Tiger, your team won't let you fall, anyone who breaks that promise breaks us, and then everyone in the chat got EMO)

OMG THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL

CAROLINE DID SO WELL

THEN FARRAHS SONG AFTER THAT OMG

EMOTIONAL DAMAGE

BUT YES ZOE BEAUTIFUL VOCALS AS ALWAYS

OMG WALLFLOWERRRRR

Omg Wonu and Caroline did so good

The VOCALS AND RUNS

THEM GETTING HYPE IN THE END AWW

Omg DEFENSE TIME

defense, defense 

AWW LOL WONU COVERING HER LIL LYRIC SLIP AHAHA

Wonu I love you 

A national treasure

TIGER PRIDE ALWAYS

TAMPER WITH A MURDER SCENE

YESSS WONU!!! SCRELT

LEANNA AS MATTIE YESSS

I LOVE ITTTT

YESSS VOCALSSS

HAHAHA SOMEONE SAYING "SHUT THE FUCK UP"

LEANNA DID SO WELL SINGING MATTIE'S LAMENT

Oh god here we go 

“Not my usual reaction to homicide” haha Wonu as Cairo I will always love you

“Welcome back everyone” while like 3 people have died

OH GOD MOVE ON IS AFTER PHOENIX IM NOT READY

OH GOD NOOO

My heart

Kaitlyn and Jenny their voices together

UGH THE HARMONY ON "don't let go" 

ALWAYS GETS ME

AHH THE HUG AT THE END (Kaitlyn, Jenny and Celeste all hugging it out but Zoe completely missing it haha)

YESSSS SYDNEY 

SHUT UP AND CHEER TIME

AHH HER KEEPING THE GROWL ON "SHIT"

LOVE IT

SYDNEY VOCALS

EVA SANCHEZ I LOVE YOU

OMG HERE WE GO 

Haha the lines in IDK

so good 

WONU SINGING SEE YOU ALL IN HELL is my religion

YESS CAROLINE DOING THE BREAKDOWN

AHHH THE C-C-C-CUT EM

Amazing.

HHH MOVE ON REPRISE???

WE LOVE A LITTLE BIT

HHHH

OMG THE FINALE

NO NOT ALREADY

IM EMO

IM ACTUALLY SO EMO

THIS! SONG!

WE ARE THE TIGERS GO!!

Ugh seeing everyone up there singing together again MY HEART

OMG AND A LIL ENCORE

SINGING A CUT SONG OOH

EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE HER

OKAY BANGER

AS EXPECTED

YESSS VOCALS

OOH FARRAH AND CAIRO HARMONIZING

THE MOTIF OF "We are the soul of the school" COMING BACK IN THIS SONG TOOO???

OMggggg I wish it didn't end

That was amazing

So WORTH the livestream ticket

Ahhhh I love this musical

WATT my beloved, you will always be loved by me.

#we are the tigers #watt musical #we are the tigers musical #we are the tigers week 2023 #wearethetigersweek2023 #wearethetigersmusicalweek2023 #we are the tigers musical week 2023 #watt week 2023 #wattweek2023 #this was amazing #such a good night #livestream was so worth it #I love my silly lil musical #SCRELTING #I'm so thankful I live in a timeline where WATT exists

[ender1821]

one last time, please

Annleigh isn’t in her room. She doesn’t find herself on her bed, where she’s supposed to be.

She’s standing in the middle of the school corridor, lockers lining the walls and students passing by as they chatted.

Her eyes rapidly dart around, frantically taking in information as she tries to make sense of what she’s seeing. She looks down, and her uneven breaths stop altogether, for she sees something that she destroyed with her own two hands. She sees herself wearing a sweatshirt Clark had left at her house, a sweatshirt she had burned in her blind fit of rage.

(Written for WATT Week 2023 day 7: Reunion)

#ender writes #we are the tigers #watt #we are the tigers fanfiction #we are the tigers week 2023 #watt week 2023 #wearethetigersweek2023 #wattweek2023 #> #chess watt #< #shes only mentioned slightly in the fic but just in case #annleigh watt #farrah watt #clark watt #uh so… this one has been collecting dust in google docs for a WHILE #but i had to do something for the musical that took up half of my brain for like 3 years so #happy watt reunion day!!!

[visualtaehyun]

Names, particles, aliens and ghosts, oh my!

Disclaimer: not a native Thai speaker, still learning 🙏

Ongsa & Alpha

Last week's episode started with the trio talking about the sisters' names:

Nunnapat Ampornsopon /Nan-na-phat Am-phaawn-soh-phohn/ Matthayom 4, class 6 (=10th grade) English

While we see this, Tin tells us Alpha's name too:

Napatsanun Ampornsopon นภัสนันท์ อัมพรโสภณ /Na-phat-sa-nan Am-phaawn-soh-phohn/

Her and Ongsa's first names have the exact same two words in them, just switcheroo'd:

นันท์ /nan/ = joy, happiness;

นภัส /na phat/ = sky, heaven

-> Quick pronunciation lesson: The final consonant in นภัส /na phat/ is called ส เสือ /saw seuua/ (= lit. S like the word for tiger) but in final position it's pronounced as a /t/. In Alpha's name, that same letter gets reduplicated to better link นภัส /na phat/ and นันท์ /nan/ so we get Napat-sa-nun!

Their last name Ampornsopon contains:

อัมพร /am phaawn/ = sky;

โสภณ /soh phohn/ = beautiful

Aylin

Her club application form was only shown in a Next Break preview last week, not the actual scene, but I wanted to take a look at it anyway:

Application to join the Astronomy Club Name: Aylin Kueaahree Grade: Matthayom 4, class 1 (=10th grade) Hobbies: Communicating with aliens Goal in joining the club: Searching for a friend/friends

Aylin is her first name, her last name is เกื้ออารีย์ /geuua aa ree/:

เกื้อ /geuua/ = to aid, do a favor, assist, lend a hand;

อารีย์ /ah ree/ = kind, generous

We saw her name properly this week, too, in the document she hilariously designed, wrote up, and filled out by hand:

Permit for spending the night at S-TAR school Subject: Asking for permission to stay the night at school for the duration of 1 night To: Counselling homeroom teacher I, (young Mr./young Miss/Mr./Miss) Aylin Keuaahree, ID number 406123, student of Matthayom 4/1, need to stay over at school ... on the date of the 24th of the month of August in the year of 2566 (2023) from 20.00 o'clock until 06.00 o'clock. Please kindly take it into consideration. Respectfully yours Aylin Keuaahree (Miss Aylin Keuaahree) Student

I've mentioned before that the subs are a bit too generous and don't quite show how much Aylin limits her speech to the minimum she needs to get her point across. One thing that consistently gets subbed is how she differentiates between aliens and humans. But not every instance of human is the same. She does seem to differentiate between general observations about human behavior and specific humans she talks to, now even addressing them appropriately (albeit with the 'human' descriptor).

1) มนุษย์ครูใจร้าย /ma noot khruu jai raai/ = [You] are mean, teacher human. 2) มันเป็นหนทางที่เอเลี่ยนจะได้เจอเพื่อนนะ /man bpen hon thaang thee alien ja dai juuhr pheuuan na/

มนุษย์ชอบถามแปลก ๆ /ma noot chaawp thaam bplaaek bplaaek/ = Humans like to ask weird questions.

1) มนุษย์พี่เคยบอกเอง ว่าเรื่องที่เชื่อไม่ใช่เรื่องที่ไร้สาระ /ma noot phi koei baawk ehng - waa reuuang thee cheuua mai chai reuuang thee rai saa ra/ = [You] said so [your]self, senior human - that what [I] believe in isn't nonsense. 2) ทำไมมนุษย์ชอบกลับคำพูด /tham mai ma noot chaawp glap kham phuut/ = Why do humans like to go back on their word?

Luna, Mawin, and Ton

Thanks again, Tin, for helpfully giving us all the names lol:

Luna Lalita Chanthaboriboon ลูน่า ลลิตา จันทบริบูรณ์ /Luu-naa La-lee-dtaa Jan-tha-baw-ree-buun/

Luna is her nickname, her first name Lalita ลลิตา means pretty, charming, lovely, and her last name จันทบริบูรณ์ contains:

จันท /jan tha/ from จันทร์ /jan/ = moon;

บริบูรณ์ /baw ree buun/ = complete, full, perfect, abundant

พี่เป็นดวงจันทร์ต่างหาก /phi bpen duuang jan dtaang haak/

Moving on to the boys-

Mawin Kow(a)charoen มาวิน โค้วเจริญ /Maa-win Khoh(-wa)-ja-reern/ -> the added 'wa' would be for the same ease-of-pronunciation reason I explained earlier with Alpha's name

Mawin isn't a Thai name but his last name โค้วเจริญ consists of:

โค้ว* likely from หมูโค้ว /moo khoh/? = a pork belly dish

เจริญ /ja reern/ = the same as Charoen's name, meaning to pray/chant, to prosper, to thrive

Edit, addition by @recentadultburnout:

Based on the usual pattern, the *โค้ว in the surname โค้วเจริญ is likely a Chinese surname that got incorporated into a Thai one. โค้ว is one of the top ten most used ones among Chinese surnames in Thailand. As for [his first name] มาวิน, while it was indeed not originally Thai, it did have a meaning—a borrowed word plus slang of sorts. A winner or to win.

Ton Thanakorn Khajornyoo ต้น ธนกร ขจรอยู่ /Dtohn Tha-na-gaawn Kha-jaawn-yuu/

His first name ธนกร /tha na gaawn/ = to create assets/capital; rich, wealthy

His nickname Ton ต้น might stem haha from the plant (ต้น)ขจร /(dtohn) kha jaawn/, a type of vine. ต้น /dtohn/ is a prefix used for plants but it can also mean leader, chief, leading, beginning, etc.

His last name ขจรอยู่ /kha jawn yuu/ = is spread/spreading, emanating, diffusing

An addendum about Ton

Last week, I wondered if maybe Ton was a closeted gay guy because of a handful of instances where AJ's delivery of the typically-female polite ending particles ค่ะ/คะ /kha/ sounded pretty sassy (and because he's Ongsa's ex aka the biggest lesbian under the sun lol). After episode three, I'm pretty sure he's just a huge flirt with everyone regardless of gender, he just adjusts his particle use (and also his height!) accordingly to sweet-talk them all:

1) ว่าไงครับสุดหล่อ /waa ngai khrap soot laaw/ -> ครับ /khrap/ = typically-male polite ending particle 2) แต่คุณแอลคะ /dtaae khun Al kha/ -> คะ /kha/ = typically-female polite ending particle

And since he finger-guns his way into the student council room, I think we all know now that he's bi

"Filth-eating spirit"

ใครจะไปล่าแสงกระสือกับพี่ต้นบ้างครับ /khrai ja bpai laa saaeng gra seuu gap phi Ton baang khrap/

If that sounds familiar to you, you either know your Thai ghosts or you've seen this or other movies like it:

Inhuman Kiss or แสงกระสือ /saaeng gra seuu/, starring Minnie Phantira, Oab Oabnithi and Great Sapol

A Krasue is a type of evil spirit that possesses women and, when going out to hunt, leaves the body behind to be a floating head with internal organs still attached. It's translated as 'filth-eating' because a Krasue is cursed to feed on blood, organs, carrion etc. Ton calls the mysterious green light แสงกระสือ /saaeng gra seuu/ (=light of a Krasue) because sightings of a Krasue usually report them looking like a floating red or green orb. In that regard, they're comparable to will-o'-the-wisps!

#23.5 degrees #23.5 spoilers #thai gl #aylinluna #viewjune #view benyapa #june wanwimol #ford arun #aj chayapol #euro thanaset #inhuman kiss #local woman harps on about linguistics #if you're wondering why i keep spelling it Tin instead of how the subs do it- i refuse to adhere to the nonsense 'h' they put in there! #his name may have a silent h at the end (ติณห์) but that doesn't mean it's needed at all in the romanization and i stand by that 😤

[sattlersquarry]

superfreaky (steve harrington x fem!reader)

Summary: [AU inspired by Freaky (2020); modern body-swap-with-a-slasher AU] The Hawkins Hacker has been terrorizing your town for years now. What happens when he digs his hooks into you is surprising. It's shocking. It's downright superfreaky.

Word Count: ~7.3k

Warnings: 18+ PLEASE!!!! for language, violence, grief, mentions of alcoholism, mentions of death and serial killers/slashers. all the characters are at least 18 in this (and Steve is the same age as the others). There's no descriptors of the reader except when she and Henry Creel swap bodies (then, you're Jamie Campbell Bower). Also Officer Callahan is your stepbrother in this.

a/n: this is a halloween fic. I'm aware that it's mid-November and everyone on this website has moved onto winter/holiday fics. I'm late! I'm sorry! Blame depression/personal life weirdness/my horoscope.

🔪🔪🔪

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12th, 2023

Your life kind of sucks.

Just a little.

Currently, you’re dressed in a godawful tiger suit on a Thursday night, shaking your clip-on tiger tail like there’s no tomorrow. You don’t want to be here, but extracurriculars look great on college applications. If you want to get far, far away from Hawkins, Indiana after graduation, this is the kind of shit you have to do to be impressive on paper.

Plus, someone must be the brave soul that dons the Hawkins High school mascot costume on the sidelines of basketball games. The brave soul that gets soda cans chucked at your head by Billy Hargrove.

You turn and scowl when you feel the liquid splash across your back—not that Billy can see through your stitched-on tiger expression.

He and his buddies laugh and laugh, until team captain Steve Harrington chews them out for being assholes. You can’t help it—you inwardly swoon at the sight of him defending your honor. With that floppy hair and those gorgeous eyes and…

You snap yourself out of your wild, romantically charged fantasies about said basketball player when he jogs his way toward you.

“Hey, Y/N, you okay?” he asks quietly. You lift your mascot head and give him a small smile.

“I’m good,” you say. You shrug. “I’m used to it.”

Steve sighs and shakes his head.

“I’m really sorry. I told Hargrove to cut it out when you threw the nachos last week, but he just doesn’t know when to quit.”

The Tiger cheerleaders begin the school fight song.

“I’ve gotta get back into it,” you say. “But, um, thanks.”

“Anytime,” Steve says. He shoots you a smile before jogging back to his teammates. The timeout is over, and he steps back onto the court.

As you flail around next to the cheerleaders, the Tigers sink a three-pointer thanks to Steve and win the game.

Post-game, you shuffle into the parking lot with your best friends Robin Buckley and Jonathan Byers by your side. Jonathan works for the school paper and photographs the games while his girlfriend, Nancy Wheeler, interviews players and attendees on the sidelines. Robin is in band and plays the trumpet. (Sometimes, you wish you’d followed their extracurricular pathways instead of going the mascot route.)

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Robin points out, sensing your disdain as you glare at the tiger head in your hands and the oversize, fuzzy orange slippers adorning your feet.

“I do!” you say. “It’s senior year, fall semester. I can’t flake now. It’ll look bad on my applications.”

“You and those applications,” Jonathan says with a shake of his head. “You’ve been worrying about them since we were freshmen.”

“Obviously! They’re my ticket out of this town. It’s not safe here anymore.”

Robin and Jonathan share a look. They know what you’re referring to: the Hawkins Hacker.

The Hacker is the town's own slasher. He claimed victims every year around homecoming for years and years, until 2016, when he suddenly stopped. However, just last night he killed again. The whole town—including your stepbrother Phil, who’s a cop—are on edge.

“Do you need a ride home?” Jonathan asks, spinning his car keys in his hand.

“No, it’s okay,” you say. “My stepmom’s on her way. And there are plenty of people around. I’m totally safe!”

Famous last words.

Literally. (Almost.)

“You sure?” Robin questions. “Because he’s taking me and Nancy home too, but he’s got an extra seat!”

“I’m good,” you say. You hold up your cell phone. “She texted me an hour ago to say she’d get me on time. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay?”

Your friends look a little worried, but you wave them off. Game attendees meander out of the school and head to their cars. It’s a sea of people. You’re fine.

However, the minutes tick by, and the crowd thins out. You watch the away team hop a school bus and zip back to their hometown. You feel the temperature of your tiger suit inch up a few degrees when you see Steve wander to his BMW with a couple teammates in tow.

It’s considerably quieter than it was when you first left the game. You text your stepmom LeAnn once, twice. Then you call her once, twice, three times. A third text, a fourth call. Nothing. Radio silence.

By now, it’s dead quiet. Everyone is gone. You feel an icy chill zip down your spine, like you’re being watched…

You miss your father. He died about a year ago, and he was always on time.

You startle when the phone in your hand buzzes. It’s your stepbrother Phil.

“Hey!” you say. “Where’s LeAnn?”

“Passed out again,” Phil says with a beleaguered sigh. “Where are you? Did Jonathan give you a ride home?”

“No, I told him your mom was coming to get me,” you say. “Can you—”

Beep! Beep! Beep!

You pull the phone away from your ear and groan. It’s dead. Just great.

A streetlight across the parking lot flickers. When your eyes adjust, your heart drops through your stupid mascot feet and to the center of the earth: there’s a man watching you.

You can’t tell, but it looks like he’s wearing a mask. You gulp, panic stretching itself through every fiber of your being.

“Please don’t be the Hawkins Hacker,” you mumble to yourself. “Please don’t be the Hacker. Please don’t be the Hacker.”

The Man continues to stare. Something glints in his hand. It frightens you.

“My stepbrother is on his way!” you yell, hoping to scare him off. “He’s a cop. With a gun.”

That doesn’t seem to bother the man at all. In fact, you see him walk toward you—a slow, Michael-Meyers-esque stride that has you shrieking in fear and stumbling to the school doors.

You yank at them to no avail. You don’t bother looking back and instead run around the school building to the football field. Panting from exertion and sheer fear, you duck under the bleachers and hide behind a big banner.

You slap a hand over your mouth to quiet your panicked whimpers. Why oh why did you trust LeAnn to get you on time, when every night for the past month she’s drank a whole bottle of chardonnay at 6 p.m. and passed out? Why didn’t you go with Jonathan when he offered? Hell, why didn’t you ask Steve for a ride? He’s a nice guy! He would’ve done it!

Now, you’re hiding from a slasher in a stupid rubber gray mask. And if you die and come back as a ghost, you’ll be wearing the Hawkins High mascot suit for all eternity.

You watch the Hackers’ feet as he stands in front of the bleachers and listen as he steps on them. He seems to think you’ve left, and you hear him wander off.

Or, so you think. Actually, he sneaks up behind you and grabs your leg, yanking you out from your hiding place.

You scream and kick at him, hitting him right in the nose and giving you the chance to run.

You don’t get far, though. He tackles you somewhere around the fifty-yard line.

“No! No!” you scream as he raises the knife above you. The knife has a spider carved in the handle with red ruby eyes. “Please! No!”

You push at him, knocking his mask off. His face is gaunt: all sallow cheekbones and purple under-eye bags. His eyes are a dull, washed-out blue, and his blonde hair is scraggly and unwashed.

You hate that his face is the last face you’ll ever see.

He plunges the dagger into your shoulder just a few inches shy of your heart and you scream in pain, the bloodcurdling sound echoing across the football field. The Hacker hisses in pain and drops the knife. He touches his shoulder and looks angry at the sight of blood on his fingertips.

His blood. From the wound that appeared on his shoulder after he stabbed you in the same spot.

Bang! Bang!

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” Phil roars from across the football stadium, gun raised in the air.

The Hacker stumbles to his feet and ambles off. Still prone on the ground, you turn on your stomach and watch him go, shocked at what you witnessed. How did he get stabbed?

You’re in so much shock, you don’t even realize that Phil is by your side until he gently helps you sit up.

“You’re okay!” he says, voice tinged with an urgency you’ve never heard from him before. “I’ve got you, okay? I’ve got you.”

“It hurt him too,” you mutter, a bit delirious. “It hurt him too!”

“Try to stay calm, okay?” Phil says. “You’re in shock. I got you, Y/N.”

You hear him bark into his radio: “This is Officer Callahan! Send an RA unit to the Hawkins High football field! My stepsisters’ been stabbed!”

The rest of your evening is a blur. You get patched up by paramedics and then taken to the police station to give a statement.

LeAnn arrives as you’re sitting with the sketch artist, crying and screaming and apologizing a million times. You forgive her (even though you aren’t sure you want to), and later that night, you hear Phil chewing her out for drinking and forgetting you again.

“She could’ve died, Mom!” you hear him yell as you lie in bed and try to sleep. “If I had been just a minute too late, we would’ve lost her and Allen in the span of 11 months!”

“I’m sorry!” LeAnn sobs. “I just had one glass—”

“One glass, Mom?! Try the whole bottle!”

Despite your anger at her, your heart breaks for LeAnn. You know your dad’s death has been hard on her. She hasn’t been doing too well since he passed, but sometimes you wish she’d realize you weren’t doing that great either. Phil tries to comfort you both, but he’s so busy with work, his pep talks are usually thirty seconds long between bites of a bagel before he’s rushing off to save Hawkins again.

Your phone blows up with texts and DMs. Somehow, the kids at school found out what happened and won’t stop messaging you for details on your encounter with the Hacker. You can’t deal with it. Except, there are some messages that you do respond to:

---

Text Thread with BOBBIN and JONNY B GOOD

BOBBIN: Oh my God!!! Y/N are you okay??? Please text back!!!

JONNY B GOOD: We saw what happened on the news. Please text us when you have a chance. We’re worried about you and thinking of you rn.

BOBBIN: WE’RE FREAKING OUT!!! ARE YOU OKAY???

JONNY B GOOD: Robin, just chill. She’s probably resting.

BOBBIN: Please don’t die and leave me alone to third wheel Nancy and Jonathan!!

JONNY B GOOD: Wooooow.

YOU: Wow is right. I got stabbed and those are your priorities?

BOBBIN: SHE LIVES!!!! YEAHHHHHHH!!!

YOU: Yep, I’m alive. I’m really sorry but I feel like shit. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?

JONNY B GOOD: Of course. We’re here when you need us.

BOBBIN: WE LOVE YOU <3

YOU: <3

---

DMs from steve.anthony.h83

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Hey Y/N I saw the news I rly hope ur OK

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): Hi Steve, thank you for reaching out. It means a lot to me. I’m not feeling too good right now.

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Im sry to here that that sux 😞😢💔

---

God, even his text message typos and cheesy emoji usage are endearing. You’re in too deep with this crush.

---

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): Yeah. But I think I’ll be okay.

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Anything I can do 2 help? Maybe I can get u smtg, wats ur fav candy?

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): Oh, that’s sweet, but you don’t have to do that!

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): I want too 😃 do u like nougat

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): I love nougat!

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Perfect 😃 Ill bring u sum tmrw after school 🍫

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): Thank you, Steve ❤️

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Feel better Y/N 😃😃

You go to sleep, shaken up but in slightly higher spirits thanks to your conversation with Steve.

🔪🔪🔪

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13th, 2023

You blink awake hours later, startled at the sight around you.

You aren’t in your room. You’re lying on a mattress on a concrete floor. The room around you is full of weird stuff: grandfather clocks, paintings upon paintings of black widow spiders, and mannequins with nails in their faces like Pinhead.

“What the hell!” you say. You gasp and clutch your neck. “Why is my voice so deep?!”

You stagger to your feet and look around the creepy space. Why are you further from the floor than usual? In the corner, you see a mirror half-covered with a sheet. You yank it off and gasp.

“AHHHH! IT’S THE HAWKINS HACKER!” you scream.

The Hacker screams as well. You reach your hand toward the glass—and the Hacker reaches his hand toward it as well. You pull it away and so does he.

The you in the reflection is the Hacker. Holy shit.

You realize where you are: the old mill. Phil told you to stay away from this place because it’s where drug deals go down, and where Eleanor Gillespie got attacked by birds that one time.

You rush away before you can freak out too much. You head downtown, mind swirling.

This must just be a nightmare. Right? A really, really realistic, terrifying lucid dream.

But when you hit your head on a tree branch (because you’re way, way taller than you used to be) and it actually hurts, you realize it’s not a dream. You’re really the Hawkins Hacker. Somehow, you’ve swapped bodies with a homicidal maniac.

You need to find Phil. He’s been your stepbrother for a decade now and you trust him more than anyone else. He might be able to know what to do—or just be a shoulder to cry on.

You pass an electronics store, and your heart sinks when you see your face—the Hackers’ face—on TV.

“The Hawkins Hacker has been identified as Henry Creel,” the news anchor says, showing a photo of the face that you are unfortunately saddled with now. “He’s most known for killing his mother, father, and sister as a teenager—and also for driving a Jeep Wrangler through a Dairy Queen drive-through window without a license.”

“Hey!” someone shouts nearby, having connected the dots. “You’re the killer guy from TV!”

You don’t even stop to see who’s yelling at you before you run as fast as you can, ducking through alleyways to lose whoever’s chasing you.

You can’t go to the police station now that your face is plastered all over the news and social media. But you need an ally, or allies.

Besides Phil, the people you trust the most are Robin and Jonathan. You sneak into Hawkins High through the gymnasium doors, wishing you had your mascot head to hide under. Then, you take a quick shower in the locker rooms and hide until class change is done.

You slink through the empty hallways and make it to the school’s auditorium. That’s where you, Robin, and Jonathan spend study hall every day.

You open the door to the theater as quiet as a mouse, hiding in the wings for a moment when you overhear them talking about you.

“I hope Y/N’s doing okay,” Robin says with a sigh. She takes a bite of an apple and says through chews, “Why did she blow us off earlier?”

“Give her a break, Rob,” Jonathan says. “She’s probably really shaken up. But it is weird that she even came to school anyway. I wonder—”

“Guys!” you say, stepping onto the stage. “It’s me! Don’t freak out.”

They immediately freak out.

“AHHHHH!!! THE HACKER!!!” Robin screams. She chucks an apple core at your head and it bounces between your eyes. You stumble back and groan.

“COME ON!” Jonathan says, grabbing her hand and dragging her away from your, fear flashing in both of their eyes.

“Wait!” you shout. “Come back!”

You follow them as they run through the hallways and end up in the school cafeteria’s kitchen. A lunch lady shrieks and runs out when she sees you.

“Stop!” you call, following Robin and Jonathan to the back room. “Wait! Please just hear me out.”

Jonathan snatches up a soup ladle and hits you in the spine with it.

“ARGH! Dude, stop!”

Robin grabs a tray of mozzarella sticks and lifts it above her head. The sticks go flying when she whacks you in the head. Repeatedly.

Angry that they won’t stop hitting you, you yank the tray out of Robin’s hand and toss it away. Your newfound strength the body you’ve found yourself in possesses surprises you. The old you would’ve grappled with Robin a lot longer before getting the tray from her, if you even got it at all.

Robin tries to jump on your back piggyback-style to tackle you to the ground, and you elbow her in the stomach.

“Cut that out!” you bark as she wheezes.

Jonathan hits you again with the ladle and you shove his shoulder, a bit too hard. He falls on his butt and winces.

“Enough!” you say. “We’ve hit each other over and over. Can we agree we’re all tired and end this?!”

“No!” Jonathan says, pulling himself back to his feet by gripping a countertop. “You attacked our friend and now you’re attacking us!”

“I’m not attacking you!” you say. “I’m trying to get you to listen. I am not Henry Creel. I am not the Hawkins Hacker. I’M Y/N! YOUR FRIEND Y/N Y/L/N!”

“As if!” Robin scoffs. “I’m calling 911.”

You snatch the phone from her hands and hold it high above your head. She’s tall, but not tall enough to reach it thanks to your longer arms.

“I promise!” you beg, holding your other arm up in surrender. “It’s me. It’s Y/N!”

“Yeah, right!” Jonathan says darkly. He picks up the ladle again, wielding it like a lethal weapon. “Tell us something only Y/N would know or we’re going to the cops.”

“What’s Y/N’s favorite movie?” Robin asks, eyes narrowed.

“I tell everyone it’s Casablanca but it’s The Muppets Take Manhattan!”

“Favorite candy?” Jonathan demands.

“Three Musketeers because I feel guilty that everyone shits on nougat when it’s really not that bad!”

“Who’s Y/N’s biggest crush?” Robin asks.

The face that’s not yours blushes deeply.

“Duh,” you say. “It’s Steve the Hair Harrington.”

Jonathan and Robin share a look. A sense of realization flashes on their faces.

“Handshake?” you offer. You hand Robin her phone back and hold out your hands—or, Henry Creel’s hands—and wait.

Robin and Jonathan slap you five, before the three of you complete the intricate handshake you made up in seventh grade.

“Holy shit!” Robin shrieks, eyes shining. “You’re really Y/N!”

She pulls you and Jonathan in for a group hug and you laugh.

“Oh, thank god,” you say. “If you didn’t believe me, I don’t know what I’d—"

“Hold on,” Jonathan says, pulling out of the hug. “If you’re actually Y/N, that means the Hawkins Hacker is going around school wearing your face!”

“Oh damn,” Robin says. “Is that why you look hot today?”

“What do you mean I look hot?” you say, trying not to take offense to the implication that you don’t look hot every day.

Robin opens Instagram and shows you a photo posted to the student-run Hawkins High Gossip Instagram page. It’s a blurry photo of you (or Henry Creel in your body) walking in the hall past Billy and his asshole friends, who are checking you out. Instead of your usual mousy wardrobe of flowy skirts and cardigans, you’re wearing a tight black tank top, a red leather jacket, and bright red lipstick.

“Hot damn!” you blurt out. “I do look hot! Shit, have I hurt anyone? Or, has he hurt anyone?”

Jonathan grimaces.

“Tommy H. was found unconscious in the chem lab,” he says. “He was mostly fine, except his eyebrows were burned clean off…”

“But if fake-you did that,” Robin says quickly, “you aren’t liable because you weren’t in control of your body!”

“I don’t even know how we body-swapped in the first place!” you lament. “How do I get control of my body back?!”

“Let’s think about this,” Jonathan says. “Maybe it was some kind…spell? Or enchantment?”

“Enchantment?!” you snap. “Dude, be for real!”

“Wait,” Robin says, eyes shining. “I heard about this!”

She opened the internet app on her phone and went to www,theweeklywatcher,com/body-swap.

“No fucking way,” you say. “The Weekly Watcher is not a refutable source!”

“Why not?!” she says, scrolling ferociously until— “Ah! Found it.”

She shows you an article about the mythology of body swapping. At first, you roll your eyes, but then—

“That knife!” you gasp. “That’s the knife he had!”

You point to the photo, featuring the ruby-eyed spider in the knife handle.

“According to this,” Jonathan says, “that knife is an artifact that was used in ancient rituals."

“If you’re struck with the blade when the clock strikes midnight,” Robin reads, “you and your attacker switch places. And you have 24 hours to stab him and switch back.” 

“No, no, no!” you groan. “That means we only have 12 hours left!”

“That’s plenty of time,” Jonathan says. “Where’s the knife? You have it, right?”

“No!” you say. “Phil took it as evidence.”

“So we’ll just steal it from the police station,” Robin says, as if it’s easy and obvious.

“Oh, sure,” you lament. “We’ll just waltz into the police station while I have the face and body of a mass murderer and steal evidence. Easy-peasy!”

“We’ll figure something out,” Jonathan says. “Come on.”

The three of you head toward the exit and end up walking past the woodshop classroom. You do a double-take and watch yourself enter the hallway. Or, you watch the Hawkins Hacker parade around as you.

“Hey, stop!” you shout at Henry Creel. He pauses and turns. A shiver runs down your spine at the dark, evil look gracing your features. Features you’ve seen your whole life, features you’ve struggled to like after years of taunting and bullying. Now, they’re marred with the evil spirit of the Hawkins Hacker.

Yet, goddamn. You look hot with red lipstick. Who knew slashers had good fashion sense?

“Don’t try to run,” Jonathan says, the waver in his voice indicating that his bravery is false. “We’ve got you cornered.”

The Hacker suddenly changes expressions. Instead of a nasty glare, he opens his eyes wide, covers his cheeks with his hands, and shrieks: “AHHHH! IT’S THE HAWKINS HACKER! GET HIM!”

A couple cops run around the corner of the hall and you curse, rushing toward a side door with Robin and Jonathan in tow.

“GET YOUR KEYS!” you yell. “We have to get out of here or I’m headed to jail forever!”

Jonathan struggles to start his car, but he peels away just before the cops can stop you all. After your first-ever police chase, you three lose your tail in the parking lot of the big-box store LeAnn works at.

You hide out in a changing room while Jonathan and Robin find you a disguise—a plastic Halloween mask of Bill Clinton’s face.

“I can’t see or breathe in this thing,” you grumble as your friends lead you back to the car.

“If you get arrested,” Robin points out, “you won’t be able to switch back.”

You bite your tongue from any further complaints, too worried about just that.

“So, what’s the plan?” Jonathan asks, once you all are back in his car. “How can we get the knife?”

“About that,” Robin says. “I think we need to bring in your stepbrother.”

“If Phil doesn't believe us, we're in big trouble!” you protest.

“He’s an ally!” Robin shoots back. “And we need one if we’re going to…oh shit.”

She holds up her phone screen for you and Jonathan to see. You squint through the eye holes of your uncomfortable mask and gasp when you realize what’s going on.

“Fuck!” you groan. “What the hell is he doing?!”

It’s another post from the school gossip Insta. The Hawkins Hacker is schmoozing with Billy and his clique of jerks at the local indoor mini-golf place. You watch in the video as he leans into Billy’s ear and whispers something before sauntering off.

The caption of the post says, “OMG is Y/N Y/L/N like, hot now?!”

“I resent this!” you snap. “Why is everyone under the impression that I’m not hot all the time?!”

“No, no, no!” Jonathan gasps. “Look!”

At the tail end of the video, you see Nancy and Steve follow Henry Creel into the glow-in-the-dark golf course.

“They’re going to get killed!” he says, turning the ignition in his car with shaking hands and reversing haphazardly, almost taking out a mulberry bush as he speeds toward the golf place. “Robin, call Nancy now.”

“She’s not picking up!” Robin says, phone to her ear. “I’ll text!”

Your stomach churns with anxiety. If the Hacker kills Nancy and Steve while he’s in your body and you switch back, you’ll feel guilty forever. You’ll also go to jail. But if you don’t switch back, you’ll go to jail as Henry! This is all too much.

You’re certain the pale face that doesn’t belong to you is green right now as Jonathan drives like a racecar driver to save his girlfriend and your crush from “your” wrath.

🔪🔪🔪

Steve’s not sure what’s gotten into you today.

First, you showed up to school. That was surprising after your attack.

“Hey!” he had said when you walked into woodshop class. “How you feeling?”

You hadn’t responded, but you had looked quite intrigued when he accidentally cut his finger working on his birdhouse.

“Ah, shit,” he’d grumbled. “Do you have a—”

You leaned over and licked the blood clean off his finger. It startled him—and annoyed him when that freak Eddie Munson mumbled, “Whoa, that’s hot,” from across the worktable.

Steve’s cheeks glowed rosy red, flustered at your boldness. But you’d left class before he could do or say anything about it (or give you the candy he brought for you).

And now, after school, you’re standing with Billy and whispering salacious things into his ear. Since when do you like Billy? Billy, the guy that throws things at you? Billy, the guy that wrote “Y/N Y/L/N is an ugly stupid bitch” on the bathroom stalls? Billy, the guy that didn’t give you the time of day until you dressed differently?!

Why doesn’t she like me?! Steve thought, trying to look unaffected as you continued flirting with Billy. He fails, the wrinkle between his brows getting deeper as you continue talking to Billy in a low voice.

“Steve,” Nancy says urgently, rushing up to him. “We need to talk.”

“Can it wait?” Steve says. He crosses his arms. “I don’t want to do anything right now except sulk.”

“Something’s really, really wrong,” Nancy continues, ignoring Steve’s pity party. “Jonathan’s MIA and isn’t messaging me back. And neither is Robin. And Carol claims she saw them earlier get in Jonathan’s car with a tall, blond weirdo.”

“So, maybe they have a new friend,” Steve says. He squeezes the handle of his mini-golf putter and watches you walk toward the glow-in-the-dark course. “I need to go talk to Y/N.”

“No!” Nancy hisses, following him as they cut through the crowds. She tucks her phone deep in her purse. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The Hawkins Hacker is a tall, blond weirdo. Carol didn’t get a good look, but—”

“But you think your boyfriend and Robin are rubbing elbows with a killer? Nance, that’s bullshit.”

“It’s not!” she snaps. “I think that, somehow, that tall blond weirdo is actually Y/N and that girl that you’re going to go talk to is the Hacker.”

“That makes no goddamn sense,” Steve says. “Body-swapping isn’t possible.”

“Just listen to me! I was reading an article in The Weekly Watcher…”

Nancy follows Steve into the course, whispering her findings and bringing up Y/N’s odd behavior as they navigate the dark room lit up with black lights.

The more he listens, the more it makes sense. You’re not acting like yourself. But it still seems too far-fetched.

“I don’t know, Nance,” Steve says, scanning the room for you. “I think you need to stop listening to Robin so much.”

Swish! The beaded curtain leading into the next section of the course rattles as Henry Creel barrels through.

“Nancy! Steve!” he yells. “Watch out!”

Henry pushes them to the side and grabs Y/N’s hand—huh, when did you sneak up behind Steve and Nancy? The Hacker twists your wrist and you cry out.

“Y/N!” Steve shouts, rushing forward to protect you. Before he can, Jonathan and Robin grab his arms.

“No, no, let them fight!” Robin says.

“Let go of me!” Steve snaps.

He watches, helpless, as the Hawkins Hacker punches you between the eyes and you crumple like sand.

“Whoa, cool!” Henry Creel says, turning around and facing the four teens with an excited glimmer in his eye. “I’ve never knocked someone out with one punch before.”

“Wait!” Nancy says. “Am I right?”

“Right about what?” Jonathan asks.

“Did Henry and Y/N…switch bodies?”

Henry (or, Y/N?) puts his hands on his hips.

“Girl, how did you know?”

It all becomes too much for Steve. He blacks out.

🔪🔪🔪

When Steve wakes, he’s lying on the Byers’ couch. Henry Creel sits on a kitchen chair next to him.

Steve opens his mouth to scream.

“Wait!” Henry says. “Steve, don’t freak out. It’s me! I know I look like the Hacker, but it’s Y/N!”

Across the room, the person that looks like you is tied to another kitchen chair.

“Steve, don’t listen to him!” Y/N laments. “He’s crazy! He brainwashed these three idiots into working for him!”

“Who are you calling idiot, idiot?” Robin snaps.

“Steve, I was right,” Nancy explains patiently, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Y/N and Henry Creel have switched places.”

“No!” the tied-up Y/N shrieks. “Please! Steve, look at me.”

Steve turns his head toward her.

“No!” Henry says. “Look at me, Steve.”

Steve turns back toward the Hacker/potential real you.

“Steve!” the tied-up Y/N groans, trying to sound in distress but actually moaning like a Bridgerton reject. “Steve! Steeeeeeeve!”

“Oh, dry up, bitch!” Robin snaps.

“Jesus Christ, Robin!” Henry says. “Don’t talk to him like that when he’s got my face. That’s rude.”

“This is all too much,” Steve says, jumping to his feet. “I—I can’t be here.”

He darts toward the door, but before he can exit the Byers house, Henry stands and says, “We danced together at our freshman year Snow Ball!”

Steve pauses with his hand on the door handle.

“It was in the parking lot,” Henry continues. “You were vaping and I was leaving early, because truthfully, I was having a terrible time. But I saw you, and you saw me, and we split a snowflake-shaped sugar cookie and talked for, like, half an hour. And then someone propped the doors open and we could hear the DJ, and he was playing that creepy ’80s song about always watching someone, and we ragged on the lyrics for being weird and stalker-y. But you asked me if I wanted to dance, and we did for half a minute, and then my dad came to pick me up and I left. But that was the most fun I had had all semester and it gave me a fat, embarrassing crush on you. And I really, really wish I wasn’t a total coward, or I would’ve told you way sooner than our senior year—and when I wasn’t in the body of a serial killer.”

Steve watches the way Henry nervously wrings his hands—he recognizes it as a habit of yours. For a long minute, he’s not sure what to think.

🔪🔪🔪

For a long minute, you’re not sure what to think.

You just blurted out your secret crush on Steve Harrington to Steve Harrington, and he’s staring at you like he doesn’t understand you.

But then, he gives you a small smile.

“Maybe this is weird to say while you’re in the body of a serial killer,” Steve says, “but I have a fat, embarrassing crush on you, too.”

Your heart soars.

“Pathetic,” the fake-you/the Hacker grumbles. “You’re both cowards. I can’t wait to gut you like a fish.”

“That’s enough!” Nancy says sharply, shoving a sock into the Hacker’s mouth. He glares up at her with your face, but Nancy doesn’t even flinch.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Jonathan says, “let’s divide and conquer. I’ll stay here to keep an eye on murder Barbie.”

He nods in the direction of the scowling, incapacitated Hacker.

“And I’ll drive the rest of us to the police station,” Nancy says. “Y/N, you’ll stay in the car while we distract your stepbrother and steal that knife back. He should be the only one working, because everyone else is hunting you. Er, Henry.”

“Knife?” Steve asks. “What knife?”

“It’s a spooky, magic dagger and it’s the reason Y/N and Henry Creel are swapped!” Robin says.

Steve blinks once, twice.

“Right. Totally. That makes sense.”

“Let’s go!” you say. “We have four more hours to do this!”

🔪🔪🔪

While Nancy and Robin go to get the knife, you and Steve wait in the car.

It’s a little awkward, due to the circumstances. When you imagined sitting in the backseat of a car with Steve Harrington, you hoped for something a little more amorous. Not you in the body of the Hawkins Hacker.

You start to feel a little brave and even consider reaching for his hand to hold—when you see the fake you running down the sidewalk and into the station.

“What?!” you say. “How’d he get out?!”

“Shit,” Steve says. “You stay out of sight, I’ll try and stop him.”

“No!” you say. “My stepbrother’s in there! I have to go help. You stay here and call Jonathan! Make sure he’s okay.”

Steve frowns but nods, agreeing to stay behind.

When you bolt into the police station, you see Phil with his hand on his holster, glaring at Robin and Nancy. Fake you feigns a frightened gasp and runs behind him when you enter, and Phil pulls his gun and points it at you. You throw your hands up.

“Don’t shoot!” you squeak.

“Kill him!” Henry says from his hiding spot.

“Don’t! Stop!” Robin and Nancy shout.

You see the spider dagger on the ground by your friends’ feet. Before you can try and grab it, Henry does and runs out of the station.

Phil doesn’t even give him a second look.

“Put your hands behind your head,” he says to you, “and walk slowly into the cell.”

“This is a mistake!” you protest, but following his instructions so you don’t get pumped with lead.

“Please, Officer Callahan,” Robin begs.

“We’re telling the truth,” Nancy says, “just—”

“Quiet, you two!” he barks. “You! Keep walking.”

You gulp and step into the cell.

“Do you remember what I got you for Christmas in 2017?” you ask.

“Shut up,” Phil says. You glance behind. He still has the gun pointed at your back, but you see his hands shaking. And his finger’s not on the trigger.

“It was a pack of limited-edition Pokémon cards,” you continue. “Mint condition. With a holographic Charizard. But I didn’t realize I ordered a rip-off pack called Pokeymans, so it was actually a Chumpizard card.”

“How the fuck do you know that?!” Phil demands, voice shaking in tandem with his hands.

“Because I’m not the Hawkins Hacker!” you say. “I’m really Y/N. And…I’m sorry about this.”

With Henry Creel’s strength, you knock the gun out of Phil’s hands. It skitters across the floor, and you yank him by the arm into the cell.

He stumbles against the back wall and you step out, closing the door and locking him inside.

“HEY!” Phil screams, yanking at the bars. “LET ME OUT!”

“I’m so sorry!” you say. “But it’s really me. I have to hunt that bitch down and stab him with the stolen dagger and then our bodies will switch back and things will be normal again!”

“STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!” Phil roars, evidently not buying into the body-swap story.

Touched, you clasp your hands to your chest.

“Wait, you called me your sister!” you say. “Not stepsister! That’s so sweet. You’re my brother, Phil. And I’m going to make things right.”

Phil furrows his brow, confused, as you run out with Nancy and Robin in tow.

Jonathan and Steve meet you three out front.

“Your brother can’t drive for shit!” Steve says. “He just almost ran us over with his squad car.” “That wasn’t Phil!” you say. “It was Henry! He stole his cop car. But why? Where the fuck is he going?”

“Earlier this evening,” Nancy says urgently, “I heard you—uh, him—tell Billy that they should throw a homecoming party at the old mill, since they canceled the real dance.”

“That’s where he lives!" you say. "His homebase. It’s where I woke up this morning.”

“It’s his hunting ground,” Robin says darkly. “No doubt he’ll be killing teens left and right.”

“We have to stop him,” Jonathan says.

“No shit, Byers!” Steve says. “Let’s go!”

🔪🔪🔪

When you arrive at the mill, your group agrees to split up.

“Wait!” Steve says, before you dart off. “Hold out your arm.”

You hesitate and do as he says. He attaches his watch to your wrist.

“I always have it set for five minutes ahead,” Steve explains. “So I’m not late to stuff. So we have 30 minutes to find the Hacker, get the knife, and do the switch.”

“Everyone keep your phones close,” Jonathan says. “Move out!”

You divide and conquer, searching the party of wild, drunk teenagers for the evil man wearing your face. Eventually, you find him in an empty back room — towering over an unconscious Billy with an axe in hand, ready to whack the bully in the skull.

“WAIT!” you yell. “STOP!”

The Hacker freezes and turns, giving you an evil smile. You see the hilt of the magical dagger shining in a sheath attached to his belt. 

“It’s you again,” he spits.

“Yes, hi,” you say. “It’s me. And I’m going to ask you to put the axe down before I make you.”

The Hacker cackles.

“Really?” he says. “Even in your pathetic, puny body, I could overpower you in half a second. Plus, this jerk makes your life hell. Don’t you want me to finish him off?”

“No!” you snap. “Because I’m not a monster like you!”

You notice Jonathan in a doorframe behind the Hacker, staying out of his eyeline.

“What’s your problem, man?” you ask, hoping to distract him so Jonathan can take him by surprise. “Why do you kill people?”

“Do you really want to know why?” Henry asks. You nod.

“Well, guess what: there’s no reason. None at all. I kill people because I think it’s fun!”

“You’re sick,” you mutter.

He grins evilly.

“And you’re my next vict—Argh!”

Jonathan interrupts the Hacker’s evil spiel by hitting him in the back of the skull with a fire extinguisher. The murderer crumples to the ground, the axe flying out of his reach.

He doesn’t stay down for long. Thankfully, you’re able to tackle him and snatch the magical knife into your hand.

You raise it above your head, and—

Beep. Beep. Beep.

You gasp and look at Steve’s watch. The timer is done. You’re out of time.

The Hacker laughs and laughs and laughs.

“Shit,” you say, tears of anger and despair welling up in your eyes. “Shit! I’m stuck like this!”

“I win!” the Hacker cackles. “You’ll be tossed in jail, and I’ll be free to keep killing. I think I'll stab your little boyfriend Steve next.”

You’re about to drop the dagger and run, unsure of where to go or what to do, when Jonathan says: “Wait, the clock tower!”

You whip your head over to look at him, brow furrowed.

“The clock tower in the library!” Jonathan continues. “It’s not going off! You still have time!”

Puzzle pieces fall into place.

“Steve sets his watch five minutes ahead,” you say, glancing at your wrist.

Henry Creel’s eyes widen, and then you plunge the dagger into his shoulder.

You feel strange, like you’re floating in the air. Then, suddenly, both you and the Hacker are thrown backward.

When you hazily blink and sit up, you see the Hacker doing the same.

“It worked!” you say, face splitting into a grin.

The Hacker glares at you. You feel a chill down your spine. But before he can do or say anything, your brother swoops in with his gun raised.

“Hands where I can see them!” Phil yells. The Hacker grumbles but obeys. You and Jonathan skirt away from him as Phil slaps handcuffs on the killer and drags him into a squad car.

“Y/N!” Robin shouts, running over with Nancy and Steve in tow. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m okay,” you say. You wince and grip your shoulder. “Except I reopened my shoulder wound, and I think I’m going to have really, really freaky dreams every night for the rest of my life.”

Phil races back over once his colleagues have Henry Creel in custody, fussing over you like a mother (brother) hen. You find yourself seated in the back of an ambulance with a freshly bandaged shoulder.

After Phil steps away to debrief Chief Hopper on the arrest (and to lock the magical dagger away once and for all), Steve wanders over.

“Can I sit here?” he asks, gesturing vaguely next to you on the back bumper of the ambulance. You nod and scoot over.

“How’s your arm?” Steve asks.

“It’s mine again,” you say, “so it feels amazing, despite the stab wound.”

“I’m definitely glad to see you as yourself again,” Steve says, cheeks flushing pink. He looks down at his fidgeting hands, the epitome of bashful, when he adds, “Actually, now that you’re yourself again, I was going to ask if you wanted to go on a date with me sometime.”

Your insides melt.

“Really?” you practically squeal, trying not to sound too eager. “Ah, I mean. That would be cool, or whatever.”

Before you can convince yourself not to, you give Steve a quick kiss on the cheek. He beams at you, but you both roll your eyes when you hear Robin, Jonathan, and Nancy hoot and holler from a few yards away.

Everything will be fine, now. You’ll be fine. That’s what you tell yourself when Phil drives you home and LeAnn gives you a million hugs and says how happy she is that you’re okay. That’s what you tell yourself when you fall asleep after having a lovely text conversation with Steve. That’s what you tell yourself when you have nightmares about being stuck as the Hacker forever, nightmares where he escapes jail and kills you (and everyone you love) once and for all.

But you tell yourself it’s fine, that you’re fine. That nothing is wrong, despite the chill down your spine that can’t quite go away.

🔪🔪🔪

a/n a happy yet spooky ending. is everything really fine? is the hacker really gone for good? maybe I'll write a sequel one day. or maybe I won't, as to not torture y/n any more.

tag list: @hollandweather @starry-eyed-steve @aloneinthehellfire @a-dealwith-god

if any of my mutuals (or anyone else) would like to be tagged in any of my future steve fics, lmk!

#st fic: superfreaky #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n

[fcble]

THE PROBLEM WITH FABLE is a video essay uploaded to YouTube on November 19, 2023. Despite being the channel’s only video, it was quickly picked up by the recommendation algorithm and gained nearly half a million views in its first week. The half-hour video examines and critiques Fable’s concept. Sentiments in the comment section were almost evenly split between agreeing with the video’s premise, and 2000-word essays about how it's wrong. Three days after the video was uploaded, the comment section was disabled.

CHAPTERS AND SELECTED EXCERPTS

THESIS STATEMENT [00:37 - 1:04] … The problem with Fable has always existed. It’s built into their concept—the very foundation of any group. A single concept doesn’t have to be a bad thing, if a group can properly execute and then push the boundaries and truly explore their concept. Fable does none of that. They get on stage in their hanboks only to perform pop song 8265734—now with gayageum.

THE ONLY GOOD PARTS (WHEN THE QUALITY IS BAD?) [03:42 - 6:29] … Before we get further into the bad, there are two—and only two—parts of their Korean concept that make sense. First, Korea has become such a large part of their image that all of their endorsements and brand deals are with South Korean companies. Hell will freeze over before a single Fable member represents a Western brand or product. Second, their dedication to Korean song titles is unmatched. In a surprising power move, Zenith Entertainment usually refuses to provide English translations.

PROBLEM #1 [6:30 - 15:44] … The greatest problem with Fable's concept is their inconsistency. It's been five years and they can't make up their minds about what they want to represent. They cherry pick what they want to represent. An instrument here or an outfit there. Slap a traditionally significant symbol—tiger, magpie, persimmon—on the album cover and call it a day.

For Fable, Korea exists in a bubble, which is obviously not the case, eschewing centuries of cultural mingling throughout East Asia. Their album titles are sajaseongeo—four character idioms—with roots in Chinese chengyu and similar to Japanese yojijukugo. Far from unique. For another example, Confucianism plays a major role not in their music, but in their variety shows and other content. As the state religion and governing philosophy throughout the Joseon dynasty, it was obviously highly influential on traditional Korean culture and eventually Fable. But in their promotion of the ideology, they miss out on swaths of history. While Confucianism’s five constant relationships permeated every social class, philosophy and learning were restricted to the upper class yangban. Which of course, Fable loves to represent themselves as. They’re always kings and noblemen and scholars—without a single mention of the common people. 

Aside from ignoring social class, they also ignore half the population—women. It was, for lack of a better word, shitty to be a woman in Confucian society, and it continues to be shitty to be a woman in a society still strongly influenced by Confucian values. And yet Fable glorifies this past, where women were subservient to fathers and husbands and sons and not much more than property. To make matters worse, they do this all in front of an audience of teenage girls and young women. It’s doubtful that the people in charge of Fable’s creative direction and marketing have ever felt the touch of a woman.

PROBLEM #2 [15:45 - 22:39] … While Fable hasn’t figured out what they’re representing, they’ve certainly figured out who’s doing the representing. The treatment of their two diaspora members—gyopo, dongpo, whatever term you want to use—stands out from the treatment of the rest of the group. Andrew has expressed his frustration with not being able to participate in the group’s music as much as he wants to. And then there’s Mingeun. It’s impossible to talk about Fable without talking about Mingeun’s scandal at the peak of their career, when it was revealed that he had pretended to be a South Korean national for two years. That supposed secret alone should make it obvious that when it comes to the two of them, something is different. It speaks volumes about their goals as a group—fully Korean, for Korea, to the point where even diasporan Koreans don’t belong.

In an ironic twist, their refusal to entertain anyone other than “pure” Koreans becomes even more representative of contemporary Korean society. As the nation’s economy becomes increasingly more globalized, its social attitudes still remain firmly in the past. In Fable’s single-minded focus on Korean history, they continue to perpetrate such ideas. While one kpop group is not going to solve racism in South Korea—an issue deeply entrenched in their hermit kingdom past and the years under Japanese occupation—it becomes hypocritical for them to work so hard to export their culture while being intolerant of others.

CULTURAL REPRESENTATIVES [22:40 - 27:03] … No exploration of Fable’s concept and marketing would be complete without a mention of their nickname. In 2021, they became known as the “cultural representatives of kpop” by netizens. They've seemingly embraced the nickname since, if the way they've never switched up their concept is any indication. Which begs the question: why are they so intent on this direction? Kpop—with its idol culture inspired by Japan’s idol industry and the very industry inspired by the American one—is distinctly un-Korean. Kpop is instead a hybridization of cultures, with musical genres invented by Black Americans and its commodification of art invented by American capitalists. If Fable is really so intent on representing traditional Korean culture, then where’s the pansori song or sijo lyrics? Being the nugu face of the tourism industry—next to much bigger groups like BTS and Blackpink—is not enough. They need to do something other than appear in a Korean Air commercial and gush about how nice Jeju Island is at this time of the year.

SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON [27:04 - 29:12] … The inconsistency and hypocrisy of Fable’s concept does more harm than good. They promote a glorified version of history completely inaccurate to the actual past to impressionable young people and kpop stans incapable of thinking for themselves.

If you enjoyed this video and want to see more, make sure to like, comment, and subscribe.

#╰ to be written in ink is to be immortal — [ writing. ] #ficnetfairy #fictional idol community #fake kpop group #kpop oc #idol oc #thousand word essay with a bibliography and everything out here what the fuck

[mxtxdiaspora-may]

MXTX Diaspora May 2024: 1 week left to sign up!

There's one week left to sign up for MXTX Diaspora May 2024!

Sign-ups are open until April 9, 2024. Any creator with Chinese heritage may participate.

Event Rules & FAQ

Sign Up HERE!

Reblogs and signal boosts for this event are welcome from both participants and non-participants. Please feel free to boost on bluesky and twitter as well.

2024 prompts and links to past collections can be found below the cut. We look forward to celebrating and sharing the works for 2024!

MXTX Diaspora May 2024 Prompts, week-by-week

Week 1 (May 01 - May 05): free week

Week 2 (May 06 - May 12): azure dragon / 青龙 Sub-prompts: east, springtime, dawn, wood, blue-green

Week 3 (May 13 - May 19): vermillion bird / 朱雀 Sub-prompts: south, summer, midday, fire, red

Week 4 (May 20 - May 26): white tiger / 白虎 Sub-prompts: west, autumn, dusk, metal, white

Week 5 (May 27 - May 31): black tortoise / 玄武 Sub-prompts: north, winter, midnight, water, black

Past collections:

2021 (MDZS only)

2022

2023

#mxtx diaspora may #chinese diaspora #sino diaspora #chinese diaspora event #mxtx events #mxtx event #fandom event #mdzs event #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #chen qing ling #the untamed #cql #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #tgcf #tgcf event #svsss #scum villain #ren zha fanpai zijiu xitong #svsss event #mxtx fandom #mxtx #mo xiang tong xiu #魔道祖师 #天官赐福 #人渣反派自救系统 #墨香铜臭 #scum villain's self saving system

[rileys-basement]

WATT fandom!! This WATT Week has been so much fun and I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it! Everything that came out of it were so fun to see and I’m so glad this turned out the way it did!

I’d like to also say that trust, I’ve got a game plan on hosting WATT Week next year as well! Some prompt ideas may or may not be going through my head already...

I will say that my current plan is to hold it around the same time this year’s was, late summer! I will hopefully be announcing it much sooner than what I did for this year’s though, I gave everyone basically a month to pull things together and I apologize for that! I’ll make sure to give plenty of time to work with all of your ideas next time around :) Until then, wrapping up WATT Week 2023!

#we are the tigers #we are the tigers week 2023 #watt week 2023 #this was so fun i'm so glad i went through with this! hope everyone else had a great time see you in a bit watt week 2024!

[sparkieprose]

WATT Week Day 4 - Pom poms up

Yeah, I don't think she's doing too good. Could always be wrong though. I'm personally not haunted by ghosts of my own creation in an entirely avoidable situation had I just gone to therapy for my extreme perfectionism issues so I'm not an expert here

Instagram | WATT Week info (Instagram) (Tumblr)

#we are the tigers #we are the tigers musical #watt week 2023 #we are the tigers week 2023 #we are the tigers art #we are the tigers fanart #watt #musicals #musical theatre #art #artwork #we are the tigers week 2023 day 4 #watt week 2023 day 4 #we are the tigers week day 4 #watt week day 4 #riley we are the tigers #farrah we are the tigers #chess we are the tigers

[kellymanning]

WATT Week Day 4: Pom Poms Up

A drabble (kind of) about Riley and Pom Poms.

#watt week 2023 #we are the tigers week 2023 #we are the tigers #ive only listened to the album but I'm trusting all of yalls fics for context and characterization #truly don't know tags for this on here or ao3 so lmk if i need to add any!

[otayuriweek23]

Welcome Travelers, to Otayuri Week 2023! You've found yourself in the distant lands of tigers, bears, and figure skating, oh my! 🐯🐻💞 This year, we have word prompts, song prompts, and color prompts!

This event runs October 25 to October 31. Accessible versions of the prompts (including hex codes for the color prompts) and rules, as well as a Q&A, are available on our Event Details page.

Check out our carrd for links to our AO3, twitter, and more!

Thank you to everyone who participated in past Otayuri Weeks! It’s a joy to welcome you all back to the madness ❤️ And a special welcome to any newcomers! Looking forward to seeing what you all create! Word Prompts Day 1: Wedding, Realizations, Band AU Day 2: Vacation, Childhood, Bodyguard AU Day 3: Slow Burn, Dance, Arranged Marriage AU Day 4: Social Media, Shout, Dystopian AU Day 5: Milestones, Touch, Omegaverse AU Day 6: Pets, Relief, Western/Cowboy AU Day 7: Confession, Inspiration, Free Prompt!

Song Prompts Day 1: A song you'd blast at a party Day 2: A song that makes you cry Day 3: A song you'd sing at karaoke Day 4: A song you'd send to a would-be lover Day 5: A song that makes you want to run Day 6: A song that feels like a warm hug Day 7: Free choice!

Color Prompts Day 1: “thrill of the chase” Day 2: “waves of time” Day 3: “buyer's remorse” Day 4: “but did you die?” Day 5: “wait for me” Day 6: “as you wish” Day 7: “until the end of the line”

#otayuri #otayuriweek #otayuriweek23 #otabek altin #yuri plisetsky #otabek x yuri #yuri on ice #yoi #fan event #fan week #fan works #prompts #prompt list #オタユリ #ユーリ!!! on ice

[emisirrelevant]

WE ARE THE TIGERS/WATT WEEK DAY 5

Happy We Are the Tigers Week Day 5 everyone!!

Today's prompt: Mistletoe

You probably know the drill by now, but here I am, presenting you with another song commentary/analysis to celebrate the day. Since the prompt is Mistletoe and I really couldn't come up with anything super creative, and I can't draw to save my life (shoutout to those who have been blessed with talent in the fanart department) today's song commentary/analysis will be Wallflower, as Mistletoe is a plant, and thus reminded me of the song, which also has a reference to a plant.

Okay, now that I'm done explaining my reasoning for picking the song, let's get into it.

•Um I absolutely LOVE how this song starts. Such a catchy little hook.

•Oh GOD I cannot WAIT to hear Lauren and Wonu sing this together as Riley and Cairo again.

•"Nobody remembers 4th grade Riley" way to start a song lol

•"she will never speak up" she just has other methods of communication, ok, and if that involves murder, well-

•"She's scared to be wrong" Well Cairo got her there, tbh

RILEY IS A WALLFLOWER

•"The type of little kid who gets paralyzed with fear when she gets called on" OKAY sorry Cairo but I can't defend you here, I was this person in school irl so

•"It was me who decided you could be so much more than they could see" HIT AFTER HIT, whatever Preston put in this song... MAN, I love it

•"If I never saved you what would you have done" I wonder if either of them ever thought how toxic/dependent their relationship with each other was

•"You would be no one" Singing this instead of saying it, idk if that softens the blow or is just equally as bad-

•"So forgive me for doing what's best for you" Alternate universe, what would it have been like if Cairo and Riley didn't see each other's situations like this- like what if Cairo didn't feel like she needed to "save" Riley and vice versa

•"So forgive me for trrryyyyYYYing to make this easier" WONU GIVING VOCALS here

•"I'll always be on your team" Until your best friend gets arrested

•"You are nothing, you have nothing, without me" again, if my best friend told that to me, much less SANG that, idk man. For musical purposes though, damn.

•"Everyone remembers sophomore Cairo" how Cairo says nobody and Riley says everybody, says a lot about their personalities and I love this little detail.

•"Cause she'll never be wrong, anything but wallflower" Can we get an opposite word for wallflower to call Cairo?

•"But who has your back every single time you crack" The way Riley sings this line later in The Breakdown tho

•"See it's me who's beside you constantly making sure you don't see how much everyone is trashing us for"

•OOH YES and this is my favorite part

•ALL THE HARMONIES YESSSS

•SING IT ICONS

•They are the moment right now

•I also loveeee watching this in the slime tutorial, the stage blocking in this song is great

•One thing I did note when listening to the song again, is how Cairo sings that line about having Riley's back, but interestingly Riley when she sings about Cairo never does. Cairo says she stepped in to save the other kids from teasing Riley, but Riley just sang about how Cairo mouthed off and got into fights, not even if she helped Cairo at all.

•I wonder if that's really subtle foreshadowing now that I think about it.

•OH MY GOD AND THEN THIS PART I LOVE IT SOOOOO MUCH

•When they both separate and sing their own part of the song-

And Riley's like "SO FORGIVE ME FOR DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU"

And meanwhile Cairo's all like "BUT WHO HAD YOUR BACK WHEN YOU HAD A HEART ATTACK"

•AND THEN THE INSTRUMENTAL IN THE BACK WHEN THIS IS ALL HAPPENING OH MY GOD

•Chef's kiss chef's kiss chef's kiss

Is it really a duet with your bestie who may not actually be that, giving enemies to lovers if you don't sing "YOU ARE NOTHING, YOU HAVE NOTHING, WITHOUT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

•"Riley is a wallflower" DUH DUH

•I love how it ends like that, like Cairo has to feel like she needs to be the one who has the last word

•This song is a 10/10 about those kinds of friendships.

I love my cheerwives.

#we are the tigers musical #we are the tigers #watt #watt musical #we are the tigers week 2023 #wearethetigersweek2023 #watt week 2023 #wattweek2023

[dearly-somber]

Into the I-LAND | j.hs | bts

-> pairing. non-idol!hoseok x female reader

-> genre. road-trip/runaway!au, established relationship, high school!au, fluff

-> rating. 13+

-> w/c. 1725

-> warnings. none!

-> a/n. Such a good song omg

-> collection. songfic

-> started. ???

-> fin. Sept. 14th, 2020 @ 01:14

-> edited. Thurs., Jul. 13th, 2023 @ 16:16

"Have everything?" you asked him with an excited smile, your backpack hooked over your shoulder, an extra duffel bag in your left hand. He nodded, taking your hand in his own and squeezing reassuringly.

It was just past two in the morning and the two of you were wearing a good amount of jackets and jerseys.

“Let’s go,” he said softly, tugging you lightly as you walked down the road. Once you were far enough from your hometown, you'd try your best to hitch hike further, to your actual destination. The two of you had left notes for your parents, each telling them that they didn't have to worry and that you'd be gone for the week. You also told them that you wouldn't be too far from home, the two of you walking in a comfortable silence.

You were going to Daegu, since Hoseok had a friend there that would let you stay for the week. His name was Min Yoongi, if you remember correctly.

The two of you kept walking, hand in hand, down the left side of the road, making sure to stay out of the middle of the main road. It wasn't until about three in the morning when you started getting tired, your pace gradually slowing down. Hoseok was looking at you worriedly.

"Are you sure you don't wanna stop for a while? I'm sure we're far enough now to be able to catch a ride—" you shook your head, smiling up at him as reassuringly as you could.

"No, we can't risk it. Everyone knows us, Mr. Local Dancer.” He smiled sheepishly, a light blush tinting his face. You giggled at him, pinching his cheek happily. "We can walk for another five minutes maybe, and then we can catch a ride,” you said. He sighed, but nodded.

You were asthmatic, and though you had taken a puff of your inhaler before you had started walking, you couldn't take another one, since you had been stupid enough to pack it in the bottom of your backpack, and it would take way too long to unpack and repack. It took another fifteen minutes for you to actually stop, crouching down as it became a bit lighter outside. Hobi was wearing a luminescent/ reflective jacket so passing cars would still be able to see you. Hoseok stood over you worriedly, gently rubbing your back.

"Okay, I'll see if I can catch a car." You nodded, taking deep breaths to calm your breathing. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Hobi to get a car to stop. You stood up and followed him to the passenger window of the car, looking at the driver pleadingly.

"Hello, sir. Could my girlfriend and I please ride in the back of your truck?" He asked politely.

"Well, where are you two going?" He asked hesitantly.

"Daegu, sir." The man thought it over for a few more moments before sighing. With his thumb, he motioned to the back of his truck.

"Get in. It'll be a while until we get there." Hoseok smiled at the man brightly, ushering you to the back of the truck.

He loaded the bags into the back with you, helping you in before settling himself down, his back resting against one of the softer bags. You sat next to him, head resting against his shoulder. You looked up at him with an adoring smile, kissing his cheek. “Atta go, tiger.”

He smiled, cutely scrunching his nose and bringing a hand up to his face, bending his fingers so that they looked similar to claws. You giggled at him, kissing his cheek warmly and settling back against his shoulder with a yawn.

"Sleep, baby. We'll be there before you know it." Hoseok told you gently, stroking your hair in hopes of helping you fall asleep. When your breathing evened out and he had made sure you were sleeping, he smiled at you fondly before falling asleep himself.

••••••

When you had gotten to Daegu, you had thanked the driver by giving him some cash. Hoseok had then messaged Yoongi about where you were waiting for him, and when Yoongi came, you hopped into the back of his car with a laugh. Hoseok told him of your journey from Gwangju to Daegu.

"The room you two will be using is a bit cramped, but there should be enough space for both of your things." Yoongi explained as he unlocked the door into his house, showing you to your room.

"That's no problem, Minnie. As long as we have a roof over our head while we stay here, I'm thankful." You told him with a smile. Hoseok smiled happily at the back of your head, carrying some of the bags. He was glad that the two of you were getting along well. It would've been awkward if you hadn't gotten along.

"Here we are—"

Hoseok looked into the room where Yoongi had turned on the light switch. When Yoongi had said cramped; he had misunderstood. There was one small mattress in the middle of the room, and there was just barely enough space for their clothes. "From the way you were describing it I thought it would've been worse," you said with a light-hearted smile, lightening the mood as Yoongi snickered.

"My mom will get home in about 15 minutes, and then she can make us some food."

"You're sure your mom is fine with us staying here for a week? I mean, we wouldn't mind making our own dinner, or at least help paying." Hoseok offered with a frown.

Yoongi thought for a moment. "You can talk to my mom about it, if you really want to. But for now, just get to unpacking. When she gets back it's straight to dinner, dishes and then bed."

You laughed, waving to Yoongi before tugging on Hobi's sleeve gently. He turned to look at you, the two of you walking into the room and crouching down to start your unpacking.

True to his word, Yoongi's mother arrived and immediately ordered everyone to help start dinner. While you were cooking, you and Hobi had convinced Mrs. Min to let you pay for and buy stuff like bread, milk and (non-alcoholic) drinks.

You and Hoseok had started having a compliment battle while doing the dishes, until Yoongi, in a very non-threatening way, said: "If the two of you don't stop being so lovey-dovey, I will put soap in your eyes."

The two of you had just said goodnight to Yoongi and his mother, who were watching a drama before they also went to sleep. When you closed the door, your room was engulfed in complete darkness while you moved to lay next to Hoseok on the mattress.

"It's creepy," Hobi whined, pulling you closer to him like the scaredy cat he was. You snickered, holding him tightly before giving him a light, reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry, sunshine. I'll protect you from the ghosts—"

"What ghosts?" he whisper-screamed, making you laugh. He smiled into the darkness, moving forward and placing a gentle kiss on your temple. "Goodnight, love. See you tomorrow morning,” he hummed lovingly, nuzzling his face into your hair. You hummed back at him, pressing your face into his chest as you wrapped a leg over his waist.

"Sleep tight," you whispered.

When you woke up the next morning, you noticed how you were warm, though you no longer had blankets covering you. Hearing the light breathing of another person next to you, you smiled as you realized that the reason why you were so warm was because of Hoseok; his leg sprawled over the lower half of your body, arm over your shoulder with his hand tucked under your arm.

Possessive, cuddly ray of sunshine, you thought with a giggle. You sat up, being pulled back down with a little whine. "Five more minutes..."

"C'mon, cuddle buddy. Yoongi's probably waiting for us."

"Why would he be awake and waiting for us?" Hoseok questioned, sitting up drowsily and with messy hair. You pushed his hair out of his eyes before smiling.

"Don't you remember?" you asked. "He's taking us around the place!"

Hobi's eyes widened comically, and you couldn't help but kiss him. He looked at you a bit dumbfounded, but regained his composure quickly to kiss you again.

When you left the house, Yoongi almost gasped. "I think this is the most sunlight I've gotten in the last five years—"

You and Hoseok laughed for so long that people started staring.

You chuckled all the way to the ice cream place, you and Hobi repeating the sentence under your breaths with carefree giggles. "Yah, stop giggling and tell me what flavor you want." Yoongi snapped pointedly.

"We'll both have vanilla." Hobi said before you could.

Cooing, you kissed his cheek. “Wah, you know me so well!"

"Of course." He smiled at you knowingly.

Once you had finished ordering and you were sitting outside on a mini-wall, you told Hoseok to pose for you. You took the picture with a smile, setting it as your background and sending it to his mom with the caption: 'Everything's going well and we're doing great! We'll be back in 3 more days!'

His mother sent back a heart and okay-hand emoji, making you giggle as you showed Hoseok, who lost his shit.

••••••

"Right! Last place!" Yoongi cheered as you neared your final destination three days later. You had stayed at Yoongi's place for most of the time, if you weren't going for walks with him and his parents (his dad having finally arrived back from a delayed work-trip).

"Wow..." You said, sitting on top of the hill in awe. You could see the whole of the night-time town. The wind blew your hair into your face, having forced you to tie it up, but it was doing wonders for Hoseok.

Looking over at him, you saw how he had extended his arms and closed his eyes, enjoying the way the wind pushed his hair back. You smiled at him fondly, going to sit with Yoongi and silently thanking him for the wonderful week.

Back in your small room back at Yoongi's place, you watched Hobi sleep fondly. "Goodnight, my sunshine. I love you." You mumbled.

"I love you too, baby." He mumbled back quietly, already knowing that you were asleep.

#hoseok x reader #hoseok x you #hoseok x y/n #jhope x reader #jhope x you #jhope x y/n #bts x reader #bts x y/n #bts x you #bts fluff #bts fic #kpop fic #bts scenarios #bts imagine #ao3 #archive of our own #bts fanfiction #kpop fanfiction #Spotify

[guardianbingo]

December Bonus Prompt

It seems like 2023 started only a few weeks ago and yet December is here and that means it's time for the final Guardian Bingo bonus prompt.

Unlike the finale of the drama, we didn't want to end things on a down note, so the December bonus prompt is:

Renewal

As always, you’re free to follow your muse wherever it takes you. Full info about bonus prompts is located below the cut.

Have fun and happy creating!

And while the fest is winding down, it won't officially be over until the end of January, which is the month when you can post bonus prompts you missed or fill the final squares on your card. If you still want to signup for Guardian Bingo, we'll be issuing new cards through the end of December. We'd love to have you join us!

What Is A Bonus Prompt?

An extra prompt issued at the beginning of each month, starting in February. You can fill it in addition to the prompts on your card or swap it out with a square that you don’t like or is giving you trouble.

How Much Time Do I Have To Complete The Bonus Prompt?

Through the end of the month in which it’s issued. February’s prompt has to be filled in February, March’s prompt in March, etc.

Additionally, January 2024 is reserved as a month for turning in bonus prompts you weren’t able to complete during the month they were assigned. What Time Zone Does The Fest Use For Bonus Prompt Cut Offs?

Since the fest’s participants are located in many different time zones, you’re free to submit your fill for the month so long as there is some place on Earth that hasn’t yet rolled over to the next month, even if your home time zone already has.

What Do I Get For Filling Bonus Prompts?

First and foremost, whatever work the prompt inspires you to create

A way to swap out a square on your card – just be sure to keep a record of the swap

The Merit Brush badge (if you fill 5 bonus prompts)

Do I Have To Complete The Bonus Prompt?

Of course not. They’re 100% optional.

Apart From Having To Complete The Bonus Prompt Within The Month It Was Issued, Are There Any Other Changes To The Rules Regarding Fills?

Nope!  Just like with your card, creations of any length and format are allowed provided that they’re not reused or plagiarized. You are also allowed the same freedom and flexibility in interpreting the bonus prompt as the squares on your card.

Can I See A List Of Previous Prompts?

Sure!

2023 Bonus Prompt List

February: Meet Cute

March: Take A Leap

April: Ancestors

May: Acceptance

June: Twins

July: Animal Transformations

August: Constellation

September: Moon

October: Costume/Disguise

November: Crossover/Alternate Universe

December: Renewal

2022 Bonus Prompt List

February: Tiger

March: Women and Gender Non-Conforming Characters

April: Birthday

May: Time Travel

June: Dragon

July: Meeting Again

August: Star-Crossed Lovers

September: Trying Something New

October: Supernatural Elements

November: Short and Sweet

December: Keep On Going

Who Chooses The Bonus Prompts Each Month?

The ever-amazing and very appreciated @sasamelons!

I’ve Read Through All Of This But Still Have A Question.

We’d love to answer it. Please email the mods at [email protected]

#guardian #zhen hun #december bonus prompt #guardianbingofest